Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) uses an existing Wi-Fi interface to provide direct connectivity between multiple electronic devices, and it may provide direct connectivity between electronic devices without an access point (AP) acting as an intermediary of the infrastructure network. With WFD technology, various electronic devices can provide and discover services such as a data transmission service, playback service, printing service, display service, wireless docking service, and wireless serial bus (WSB) service. Thereby, one electronic device can wirelessly use the functions of another electronic device.
To utilize the WFD service, multiple electronic devices can form a group. One electronic device of the group operates as the group owner (GO), and the remaining electronic devices operate as a group client (GC). Here, the electronic device serving as the group owner performs a function corresponding to the access point of a wireless local area network (WLAN), and the electronic device acting as a group client performs a function corresponding to a station of the WLAN.
The group formed using the WFD technology can support not only 1:1 connections but also 1:N connections, and the number of admissible group clients can be determined based on the performance of the group owner.
The connections of a WFD group are centered around the group owner electronic device. An electronic device wishing to communicate can perform intra base station subsystem communication with a group client electronic device of the WFD group only when it is wirelessly connected to the group owner electronic device of the WFD group. For example, in order for a new electronic device to join the WFD group formed around the group owner, a wireless connection must be established between the new electronic device and the electronic device serving as the group owner.
To this end, the new electronic device must be able to discover the group owner operating on the operating channel of that group. However, if the new electronic device does not support the operating channel of the group or searches for a particular channel only, the new electronic device cannot participate in the group.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.